


A Very Chriseva Christmas

by Reiven



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:53:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13099539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reiven/pseuds/Reiven
Summary: (Previously The Four Days Before Christmas)In the days leading up to Christmas, Eva worries a lot. After all, what do you get a guy who doesn't want anything besides your attention and love?





	1. Day 4

**Author's Note:**

>   
> 

##  **Twas the fourth day of Christmas.**

Although technically was it the fourth day  _of_  Christmas, or was it the fourth day  _before_ Christmas? Or actually the ninth day of the twelve days before Christmas? Or does the countdown start on the actual day of Christmas? What was the point of the partridge anyway and did it specifically have to be a pear tree?

Those were the kind of things Eva mulled over seriously when she should instead be doing something more contributing to society and world peace. Instead, her show is playing in the background, her laptop is open in front of her and no one is in the house but her but that was really nothing out of the ordinary. Her mom was working  _again_ , and wouldn’t be home until before the New Years.

Halfway through the year, Eva promised herself that she was going to make an ode for Christmas, which really meant nothing except her making another resolution that she wasn’t going to keep to. It was a tradition of sorts for her. It was also the procrastinators promise because she put it off until it was far too close to Christmas to be of any use.

Last year she spent Christmas with her friends (and Chris) at the Kose party. She made up with Isak, made some vulgar decorations and spent the night getting wasted with Chris. Then they had sex. She was really,  _really_ wasted so she didn’t really remember much about what happened that night besides that particular bit and so this year she was adamant on having an experience that she literally wasn’t going to forget.

Yousef was back from Turkey for the holidays, so Sana was preoccupied for the evening. Noora and William – ‘nough said. Vilde and Magnus – ditto. Chris was going to a pre-game with Mahdi and so it was Eva by herself scrambling to find something to do before meeting up with everyone else at the park before midnight.

That was an over exaggeration on her part, she wasn’t exactly scrambling for anything because her Chris had come to her with his puppy dog eyes and his Cheshire-cat grin and half invited her, half tricked her into going to Christmas dinner with him. She wasn’t exactly sure at what point Penetrator Chris became  _her_  Chris through, but that was a whole other issue – one she would continue fussing about once Christmas was over and done with and she’d found a solution to her current and most pressing problem at hand.

What was she going to get Chris for Christmas?

She considered getting him one of those terribly ugly Christmas sweaters with a Chris/Christmas pun stitched in bold letters on the front, but it was sold out in the shops and getting one custom made was too costly for her current financial standing.

She settled on getting him a pair of socks; one of those Christmassy ones that looked like a factory of marshmallows had vomited all over it. She had it all wrapped up with a nice big bow and a small glittery note and everything.

But it just didn’t feel right.

She considered getting him a gift card for coffee to go along with it but she was yet undecided on that front.

She knew he was getting her something, and knowing him it would most likely be something extravagant. She didn’t really expect anything. Honestly she didn’t even really want anything. Her and Jonas never used to keep to the gift giving tradition, mainly because Jonas always found something to complain about consumerism and the greeting card company or something like that. Eva was usually only listening with half an ear when he went into one of his rants but she never really expected anything from him.

Getting with Chris has been almost a completely turnaround. Chris was insistent on buying her flowers and candies and chocolates that she wasn’t sure whether he was trying to woo her or fatten her up to cook and eat later. She asked him once and he just laughed – which really wasn’t a legitimate answer. She said as much which only made him laugh harder.

But at one point she just said fuck it, and ceased telling him to stop mainly because she knew he wouldn’t and maybe because there was a small part of her that enjoyed the attention; that enjoyed the fact that he doted on her and would buy things just for the fact that it reminded him or her of because it was something he thought she’d like.

It felt good being thought of once in a while.

It didn’t feel as good because it made her feel that much guiltier about the ugly-ass socks.

There was four days till Christmas, and Eva was in trouble.


	2. Day 3

##  **Twas the third day before Christmas.**

Eva wondered whether she should be expecting three French hens, because it really wasn’t something uncharacteristic of Chris. Chris could be both the most predictable person ever and the most  _un_ predictable. It was kind of like a game sometimes: guess which Chris is coming to dinner.

The pervy Chris who would make double entendre jokes knowing that everyone in the room knew exactly what he was talking about (especially her mom).

Or the other, less frequently seen Chris who came bringing her favourite flowers and her favourite type of chocolate even though she never actually told him what they were.

There was also the third Chris who really was an amalgamation of the two. The Chris who looked at her like she lit up the entire night sky with her radiance (his words not hers). The Chris who listened to everything she said with rapt attention and never gave the impression that it was an act, like he was feigning interest so he wouldn’t hurt her feelings. The Chris who looked at old videos of hers that her mom had put on once when he came over while she was home and barely blinked his eyes while he sat there watching her dance.

Eva didn’t want to lift her face from where it was buried in the crook of her arms because she was so embarrassed. She remembered Jonas accidentally watching them once; he didn’t really say anything but his immediate first reaction was to chuckle and that was the thing that stood out to her the most. But Chris didn’t chuckle. He didn’t laugh. He didn’t even turn to look at her except once, a blinding smile on his face and a look of complete wonderment in his eyes and Eva couldn’t stop herself from watching him intently as he continued watching her on the TV.

It was mesmerising watching his reaction; the way his lips curled back, bearing his teeth when he grinned – but it was a sarcastic sort of grin, the kind that came from amusement. It was the kind of grin that just came through when a person looked at something they really liked, and Chris was looking at Eva on the screen and Eva in real life couldn’t tears her own eyes away.

She really should nix the socks idea though. She wanted to get him something special; something that would maybe show him how she felt on the inside without having to say it aloud, because Eva still found herself aversive to the words or even the idea. She’d been burned terribly in the past, once of her own doing and the other… well – she didn’t want to put herself in the same situation again.

But Chris somehow kept chipping at the barriers she’d put up around herself and she found her own constitution weakening. It was a very vulnerable position she once again found herself, and the prospect of opening herself up to someone else; putting her heart on the line for someone else to see and to hold, it was scary and Eva didn’t like scary things.

But somehow, nothing about Chris exuded scary in the slightest. He was like the worlds cheekiest, snugliest cat; the kind that would mewl at you and paw at your legs until you finally caved and gave him all the food and the one you’d find as a lump under the sheets when you turned in to sleep at night.

Perhaps instead of three French hens, she should be expecting one cheeky Norwegian kitty instead.

Christmas was just days away. Eva had one pair of ugly socks, a gift card for coffee but no real gift for Chris.

She considered baking him something special, but she wanted to show him how she felt about him and that didn’t involve involuntary manslaughter by way of cookies.

There were three days till Christmas and Eva was sweating bullets.


	3. Day 2

##  _**Twas the second day before Christmas.** _

And as it turned out, twas really a season of miracles!

After her first, second and third attempt at baking cookies ended up in borderline disaster, Eva decided to take a little run to clear her mind (and to run away from the evidence of her shame). She wasn’t a terrible cook most of the time, but somehow at that moment, trying – and failing – to make something decent and edible as a gift for Chris, all of her hard earned cooking knowledge went flying out the window along with her gift-giving abilities.

Perhaps she should just make him spaghetti. She could cook that in her sleep.

So Eva pulled out her criminally neglected running shoes out of the back of the closet and went for a run.

Well, it would probably be considered a run among the tortoise population. She got to the end of the street before she was out of breath and convinced that she was having a heart attack. After that she opted for a more manageable brusque walking pace.

She didn’t know where she was headed exactly, she just kept walking and walking until she managed to get the smell of burnt cookies out of her system (and her hair) and she was far away enough from her house to just  _think_.

Buying presents never used to be  _this_  hard. At least, buying presents for Jonas was never this hard – because she never bought him anything. She gave him a spliff that Ingrid had given her once and that was really about it.

But with Chris, she knew that he probably wouldn’t be mad if she didn’t get him anything; at least he would probably feign hurt just to annoy her but be just okay with it, or at least okay on the outside. Sometimes Chris was easy to read, other times trying to read Chris was like trying to decipher ancient tomes written in Old Germanic on dried animal hide.

Which was the root of Eva’s current predicament.

She vowed to never again leave Christmas shopping till the very last minute. At least Christmas shopping for the single most baffling human being she’d ever encountered in her life.

 _‘I only want you for Christmas, Eva,’_  Chris had said, with that sparkle in his eye and that cheeky grin tugging at the corner of his lips.  _‘Clothing optional.’_

Eva huffed and shoved him hard in the shoulder but Chris just laughed. Eva found herself laughing along soon after.

It was easy to laugh with Chris; sometimes she laughed  _at_  Chris but never out of malice. But being around Chris, Eva felt that her smile came easily and her laughter would always slip out without her noticing. Chris always made her feel happy, even when he was being annoying, it was the kind of annoying that was still amusing and heart-warming in a way and it never left Eva feeling bad or in any way inadequate.

Even when his friends were around Chris was always  _her_  Chris. He didn’t suddenly transform back into Penetrator Chris to keep up appearances; he didn’t try to show up to them or make Eva out to be a conquest or a prize he’d won. The guys would rib him and tease him about being whipped and he’d just laugh along at the joke but no make any arguments to the contrary.

That was one of the things that stood out the most to Eva.

Chris could be an ego-maniac when it came to some things, but he didn’t have an ego when it came to her.

He took her teasing in his stride and let it bounce off him like a pinball machine; he never got upset or made it seem like his manhood was hurt. He didn’t have to pretend to be two different people when he was around her and when he was around his friends and that was one of the things Eva loved most about him.

That particular train of thought gave Eva pause.

Did she really just use the ‘L’ word while talking about Chris?

She realized at that moment that she really was in trouble.

There were two days to Christmas, Eva still had no appropriate gift for Chris and she just came to the realization that she might truly be in love with him.

“Crap.”


	4. Day 2

##  **_Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house, Eva still had no clue what to get Chris for fucking Christmas._ **

Although her gift to the universe should probably be a promise to reclaim her place in the world as an active non-poet. It was 8 am and after a night of tossing and turning, what little sleep she got was plagued by nightmares in which she was being chased by a humanoid wrapped gift addressed to Chris whose lid would open like a portal leading into the vast nothingness of space, swallowing a screaming Eva whole.

She woke up to the ping of an incoming message. It was from Chris.

_Wear something nice tonight._

It read, followed by about two paragraphs of heart blowing smileys and the love emoji.

She didn’t know where they were going or even with whom. She knew nothing of what he had planned for the night.

Another ping of an incoming message.

_Or wear nothing at all. Your choice._

Followed by a record breaking amount of the winking smileys – or as Eva liked to call it: the Chris emoji.

There were a couple of hours till dinner. Eva had no present and nothing to wear.

She literally and figuratively fucked.

And not in that good, life changing way

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suuper short today cause I’m going to dinner with my bro. But will post another one later (hopefully…)


	5. Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanted to finish this in time for Christmas, but stuff came up and I had family over for a wedding and all sorts of family stuff like that so my plans didn’t pan out the way I wanted, but here it is a little late and not really in time for Christmas :(

##  **_Twas the day before Christmas and in that moment Eva felt a bit like Eve when she was in the garden which is that she was in a shit load of trouble._ **

Chris was set to arrive in ten minutes and Eva was freaking out.

They were going to dinner; she didn’t know where, she didn’t whether it was just the two of them or they were going with his parents or if it was going to be a group thing. She’d met the basic requirement needed with venturing out of the house into civilization in that she was actually dressed and looked somewhat decent.

She found a dress her mom had bought for her during one of her trips buried under mountain of discarded clothes in the back of her closet. It was still in the box with the tag still on it and everything, but luckily it looked decent and was still wearable. As a matter of fact, Eva thought she looked pretty good in it too.

It was a velvety red thing, with a flare skirt that reached to just below her knees, short capped sleeves and little pale flowers embroidered along the hem. It was too cold to go out in just the dress so Eva managed to dig out a pair of thick black leggings to go with it.

Eva wasn’t the best when it came to make up (she knew it, Chris knew it, her friends knew it and probably the citizens of Oslo all knew it) so she decided to go with just the barest minimum; a brushing of mascara on her lashes, she did her eyebrows a bit and slapped on some gloss on her lips. Her hair she let down in lose waves.

She gave herself a once over in the mirror before she heard the sound of a car pulling into the street in front of her house and the sound of a horn honking. She could feel her heart jump into her throat at the sound.

Chris was there. Chris had arrived. Chris was right outside the door.

Eva grabbed her little purse and coat and hesitantly reached for the little wrapped gift beside it.

Chris was just going to have to settle for the socks cause Eva was out of ideas and the three days she spent angsting about it hadn’t not helped at all.

The knock at the door nearly startled her out of her shoes but luckily they were the strappy one and took some effort to get off. Eva wore then in the very real possibility that she was going to have to run out of the dinner in shame and she didn’t want to have a Cinderella situation where she’d end up trudging home with only one shoe and an intense amount of guilt.

She took a deep breath before she pulled open the door.

Chris was standing on the stoop in crisp, smart suit and he looked so good Eva could do little more than stand there gobsmacked for a solid minute.

“ _Wow_.” Both Eva and Chris breathed the word at the exact same time.

“You look gorgeous, Eva,” said Chris and Eva went from standing there with her mouth slightly open, to standing there with her eyes averted trying not to let Chris see the blush that had slowly but surely creeped onto her cheeks.

“You too, Chris,” she said after a moment. “You look very handsome.”

Chris smiled and Eva nearly melted.

They were having dinner just the two of them at some fancy restaurant Chris had made reservations at and Eva wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or even more terrified at the prospect. But then she’d glance over at Chris and he looked just so damn good and his smile was just so genuine and love when he turned to meet here eyes that bit by bit she could feel the apprehension slipping from her shoulders.

Chris looked as excited and nervous as she felt on the inside and that alone managed to ease the nerves knotting up in Eva’s gut.

The restaurant turned out to be more homely than fancy, though it was one of the most expensive ones in town and one of those that Eva only ever walked by on her way to a snack bar. It wasn’t exactly a place she’d go herself or go with her friends, and her choice in the matter was obviously not without merit cause the moment she walked in (after having been greeted as Mr. and Mrs. Schistad which admittedly gave her pause – though she hadn’t decided whether it was a good kind of pause of a bad kind of pause) and was greeted by the sight of _couples_ , at every table. Older, younger, middle aged, same-sex – but only couples.

She turned to Chris beside her and found that his eyes were already on her. “Is this okay?” he asked quietly. Eva could sense the nervousness in his voice and found her own stuck in her throat, so she just nodded. Chris offered his arm out to her which she took after a split second hesitance, linking her arm around his elbow as he leader her deeper into the restaurant following the maître d'.

They didn’t talk for a while after they were lead to their seat, just sitting there in silence looking awkwardly around and at the menu in their hands.

Eva didn’t really know what to do or how to act. She was so far out of her comfort zone she might as well have been in Narnia. Never in her life did she ever expect to find herself in that kind of fancy restaurant much less with the company she had in that moment. Especially considering the weird and rather humiliating foot their relationship had started on.

But looking at Chris looking so handsome in his suit, and the way he beamed so brightly when he looked up to see Eva already staring at him; the way he always looked so happy to see her and to interested in everything she had to say no matter how dumb she herself thought she sounded. The way he made her feel so… _happy_ all the time. Eva thought that there was nowhere else and no one else she wanted to be with than Chris in that restaurant at that very moment.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, smiling.

“Merry Christmas, Eva,” said Chris. “I – uh… I got you a little something.”

All of a sudden Eva wanted to stick her head under the table and never come out again. He raised her hand immediately to stop him midsentence. “I got you something too,” she said quickly. “It’s embarrassingly small and really pathetic and just let me give it to you first before you give your present because I’ll feel all self-conscious about it and not want to give it to you at all.” She practically shoved the little parcel into his hands, looking away almost immediately but not before blurting out; “It’s socks!” as if it would somehow lessen her shame.

Chris chuckled, though his beaming smile didn’t fall even a fraction. “I was definitely in need of a new pair of socks,” he said happily, tearing open the wrapping. His smile didn’t fall, if anything it actually grew when his eyes fell on the socks in his hands. He didn’t look upset or angry or disappointed – Eva was looking for any signs of those negative reactions but Chris looked genuinely happy with his gift; Eva was somewhat relieved but it didn’t completely lessen how bad she still felt on the inside.  “I love it, Eva,” he said.

“Are you sure? You’re not just saying that cause you don’t want to hurt my feelings? Cause on a scale of terrible gifts, it’s a pretty shitty one.”

Chris laughed. “No, I really love it – if nothing, cause it’s from you,” he said.

Eva was sure she’d turned as red as her dress at that point.

“This is for you,” he said after a moment, standing up to hand a neatly wrapped box to her. It was about the side of her palm and Eva for the life of her couldn’t guess what it was. It might have been a book.

The moment she tore back the wrapping and laid eyes on the green velvety box that could only be from a jeweller, she felt her heart plummet to her stomach. “Chris, you didn’t have to,” she said.

“Don’t be silly, Eva. I wanted to. Open it!” he said, seemingly more excited for her to see the present than she was to actually get it.

Eva sighed, tearing open the rest of the paper and took a deep breath before she opened the box.

Inside was a fine, glittering silver chain leading down to a small, intricately carved pendant that held one of the prettiest stones she’d ever seen. It was white but gleamed almost blue in certain lights.

“Chris,” breathed Eva in awe. “It’s gorgeous,” she said, her eyes wide and her mouth almost gaping.

“You like it?” he asked excitedly. Eva couldn’t find the words so she just nodded. “It’s a moonstone,” he said, “I read that it’s the birthstone for people born in June.”

Eva didn’t know what to think or what to say. Not only had he gotten her such an expensive, gorgeous present, the fact that he’d put so much thought into it, researching her birthday and the stone and doing all that.

Eva felt warm tears prickling in the back of her eyes. Chris’s face immediately feel when he saw which made Eva feel terrible.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

Eva immediately shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong, just… no one’s ever gotten me such… such a thoughtful, beautiful gift like this. I’m just – I just… I don’t know what to say,” she said, “And I got you a stupid pair of socks.”

Chris laughed. “A. the socks aren’t stupid at all, Eva. I genuinely love them. Besides I don’t really care about getting presents that much anyway, I just want you to be happy. I like seeing you happy,” he said.

Eva heard the sound of the chair scraping against the floor and Chris walking up behind her. He reached for the necklace in the box, pulling it out and moving behind Eva, leaning down to fix the chain around her neck. Eva brushed her hair to the side, out of the way to it would be easier for him, looking down at the gleaming stone now sitting comfortable on her chest, almost like it belonged there.

“Gorgeous,” said Chris when he stepped to the side, surveying the necklace and the pendant that fell down to just below the curve between Eva’s collarbone; “And the necklace looks pretty too,” he added, once again causing the blush to creep onto Eva’s cheeks.

“Thank you, Chris. This is… one of the nicest things anyone has ever gotten me,” said Eva once Chris had retaken his seat.

“You’re welcome,” said Chris. “Thank you,” he added after a moment, “For spending Christmas with me.”

Eva actually beamed at that. “I’m glad we’re spending it together.”

“Me too,” said Chris with a smile.

Twas the day before Christmas and Eva was finally at peace.


	6. Night Before

##  _Twas the night before Christmas._

The night was bright and the air was chilly. Eva could see the puff of breath in front of her face every time she exhaled.

She and Chris had finished dinner and decided to take a walk around the park before going home and for the first time in a week, Eva finally felt completely at ease. She’d come to the realization that she was a terrible gift giver and accepted the fact that some things were just not meant to be; like her not-so-great gift giving abilities and being able to draw on her eyeliner straight and the same on both eyes. The most important thing was that she’d somehow managed to find someone who was not only content with her failings, but instead loved her more for them.

She’d grown used to just not measuring up to people’s expectations or their wants. Jonas was never intentionally malicious with his words and his actions but they inevitably hurt nonetheless and they ground Eva’s self-esteem down to nothing for the longest time. It took her a while but eventually she managed to find her feet once again and build herself back up as a person who didn’t need anyone else’s approval to be happy or be herself.

She never had to be anyone other than Eva when she was with Chris.

Even when she’d say something dumb, Chris would retort with something arguably dumber. She didn’t know if he did that intentionally or if it was just one of the many reasons why they went well together; it wasn’t something she mulled over for long, it wasn’t worth the trouble. Ultimately being with Chris made her happy and her presence seemed to make Chris happy and she realized that in the end of the day that was all that mattered.

She subconsciously reached up to grasp the gorgeous necklace glinting between her collarbone. She couldn’t see with her own eyes how beautiful it looked on her but the image of it sitting so gorgeous inside the velvet box was forever seared into her mind.

“Ready to go?” Chris asked after a while; they were both standing by the ornaments at the edge of the parkway looking at the giant Christmas tree illuminating the entire area.

Eva just nodded, feeling the warmth of Chris’s arm as he reached across her shoulder, pulling her to his chest and holding her close.

The drive home was in companionable silence, only the sound of the Christmas jingle playing on the radio filled the air as Chris hummed along.

Eva just kept her eyes on the scenery passing by, her mind wondering what Noora and the rest of the girls were up to that night. She didn’t realize when the car pulled up in front of her house or when Chris stepped out; she only just noticed when the passenger side door all of a sudden opened and Chris’s grinning face was suddenly right in front of hers. Even then it took her a minute to regain her bearings before she reached over to accept the hand Chris was extending out to her.

“I had a great time, Eva,” Chris said when they stepped up to her door step.

“Me too,” Eva said, trying to pretend the redness of her cheeks were because of the chilly night air instead of the Chris’s presence in front of her looking so handsome and all of a sudden throwing her hormones into a loop. “Thank you for dinner and for the gorgeous gift. I still can’t believe you got me something so expensive.”

Chris laughed at that. “Better get used to it, Eva. Now that I know your weakness, you better be expecting to be showered in precious jewels. I’ll buy your love one way or another,” he said with a wink.

Eva punched him in the shoulder but couldn’t keep the smile off her own face. “You don’t have to,” she said seriously. “You already have it.”

That comment stopped Chris immediately in his tracks. “Now Eva, it’s not nice being a dick tease during such a festive night,” he said jokingly but Eva could see the seriousness in his eyes.

“I’m not. I’m serious,” Eva said. “Would you like to stay? For some hot chocolate or something?” she added the second bit quickly.

Chris’s gaze was intense as he stared at her and Eva had to force herself not to look away. “I’d love to,” he said after a while and Eva tried not to seem too obviously relieved.

So that was how they found themselves on the couch in Eva’s living room. Chris still dressed in his tux but without his jacket or tie and Eva curled up beside him, she stockinged feet tucked under her, both nursing a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Eva’s mind was still going a mile a minute in that instance; thinking about Chris and about their relationship and where it was headed, if it was even headed somewhere; still nursing the guilt over the dumb socks and how it paled in comparison to Chris’s amazing gift and really just trying to transport herself into the body of an alternate universe Eva that wasn’t such a terrible –  _girlfriend_? Was that really who she was – who she wanted to be again? She’d only really just become Eva again was she really prepared to become one half of an abbreviated couples name again?

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked which prompted Eva to finally turn to look at him – really look at him and she realized in that moment, there was nothing wrong. Chris was a flawed person as was she, as was their relationship or whatever the definition was. But in that moment, being with Chris sitting there with a cup of chocolate listening to the sound of Christmas music playing somewhere in the street. There was absolutely nothing wrong at all.

Eva answered his question with a knowing smile which brought a confused expression to his face. Without a word she reached down to place her cup on the coffee table in front of them and got to her feet, walking away without acknowledging his confusion and the way he called her name questioningly.

She knew what she needed to do; what she wanted to give him. She’d wracked her brain for days trying to think of something to buy or something to make for him when she should have taken a moment to just breathe; she would have realized that the gift he deserved was there inside her all along. She was glad that humans didn’t possess the ability to read minds, though it felt like Chris could read hers sometimes, because Chris most definitely have deciphered that train of thought as something sexual.

She could hear Chris’s voice calling her name again but instead of answering she reached for the radio on the side of the TV and turned it on, letting the hum of the music begin playing from her favourite CD in the slot before turning around to look at him.

Eva began to dance.

**Tbc.**


	7. Chapter 7

It was finally Christmas.

Eva emerged from the depths of sleep crusty eyed and yawning loudly, still wearing the velvet red dress from the night before and for a moment, unable to remember where she was or _who_ she was. Her eyes cracked open, bleary, to the sight of the high wooden beams of her living room ceiling and the distinct awareness that she wasn’t alone. Or rather, there was another body so close to hers she could feel the heat of his breath on the base of her neck every time he exhaled.

She took a moment, wracking her brain trying to remember what happened that night, or rather the sequence of events that had taken place to lead her up to that moment.

She remembered wine – and lots of it, and also cheese and pickles oddly enough, considering she wasn’t all that fond of pickles. But someone had convinced her that the combination of all three was a winning one and she’d reluctantly gone along with it. The question was: who was that person who did the convincing?

The immediate second thing she noticed was the weight between her collarbone when she shifted in place, adjusting her position so that she was on her back, and immediately memories from whole night started flooding her brain.

Chris. The restaurant. Those darned socks. The necklace. The gorgeous smile on Chris’s face when he gave it to her. The sight of the stone unlike anything Eva had ever seen before, especially not as something that was a gift to her. Walking with Chris in the park and admiring the Christmas tree together. Chris driving her home and her not letting him leave.

Eva dancing for him.

The completely awestruck expression on his face as he watched transfixed as she moved.

All of a sudden the combination of the wine, cheese and pickles decided to make their nefarious presence known and Eva let out the loudest most disgusting belch of her life.

Surprisingly, it didn’t rouse Chris from his sleep, because Eva paused for a moment after the incident bracing herself for the inevitable teasing. When nothing came, only the sound of Chris’s soft breathing so close to her ear, she finally turned fully around, coming face to face with the sight of Chris’s serene face still lost in a deep sleep.

Eva was suddenly struck by a potent mixture of embarrassment and regret and a pinch of ‘what the hell was I thinking’, sprinkled with a generous helping of ‘I’m never going to be able to live it down’, that made her cover her face with her hands and wish that the ground would suddenly open up and swallow her whole.

Chris however, obviously not sensing Eva’s feeling of despair and intense shame, didn’t stir even a bit and Eva was torn between wanting him to wake up and comfort her or just make fun of her and just get it over with.

Instead, she just sighed and took a good look at him.

Contrary to the Cheshire cat-grin and the sarcasm he wore like a suit of armour, sleeping Chris was the most wholesome sight she thought she’d ever seen. Absent was the smirk and the glint in his eye that Eva wasn’t sure how to decipher most of the time. Absent was the smart ass comments that were one part flirty and one part annoying and Eva didn’t know which part to accept sometimes.

Sleeping Chris looked _innocent_ and it made Eva attempt to picture a future waking up to that sight for the rest of her life. She felt surprisingly okay with the prospect of it.

She absentmindedly reached up to grip the pendant, feeling the coolness of the stone as she turned it around between her fingers. She didn’t turn down to look at it; her mind couldn’t envision the exact image of the necklace from memory only the feeling it gave her when she first laid eyes on it that night. She couldn’t have drawn a picture of it if someone asked, but at the same time she couldn’t get the image of how gorgeous it was out of her mind.

She felt Chris’s arm tucked under her body; obviously he’d been holding her while they slept and the physical memory of it sent tremors up and down Eva’s spine. Just the feel of Chris’s body so close to hers, the warmth of his breath on her face and the distinct smell of wine mixed with cheese, pickles and sleep wasn’t something that would usually be described as pleasant, but considering that Eva probably smelled just as terrible, it really didn’t make much of a difference.

It wasn’t the first time the sight of her sleep dishevelled face would be the first thing Chris would open his eyes too, but Eva realized at that moment, she didn’t mind because Chris didn’t seem to mind. She didn’t feel self-conscious or embarrassed or like she wanted to hide her face away in shame.

Chris was a good looking guy, that was an undeniable fact that everyone could agree on; arguably Eva thought that he was even more good looking than William, however Eva might be biased in that sense. Eva never considered herself exceptionally good looking, maybe not exceptionally ugly either; just really quite average on all fronts. Jonas was good looking in that casual, everyman type of way. Isak had always been cute. Sara and Ingrid had always been beautiful to Eva and being friends with them made her feel more beautiful than she ever really felt.

Noora on the other hand was gorgeous, Eva could see that as could everyone with eyes. Eva had been awestruck the first time they met and remained that way throughout their entire friendship. All her friends were beautiful in their own right and sometimes Eva wondered how she managed to land herself such a beautiful group of friends.

Chris was the kind of handsome Eva only ever expected to admire from afar; the play boy- fuck boy type that every school had and if someone had said before she started at Nissen that she’d one day end up dating that kind of guys, Eva would have called them crazy.

It was strange how life could just fuck up a person’s perception and everything they thought they knew. It was ironic that Eva’s dream guy, the most perfect person in Eva’s eyes at one point would turn out to be the biggest fuck boy of them all and the person she thought was an incorrigible fuck boy ended up being the person she’d wake up to in the arms of on Christmas day, unable to think of any other place she’d rather be.

But there she was. Jonas was off somewhere with some new squeeze; Sara and Ingrid had their own cliques and their own lives and Eva was waking up on Christmas morning still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she’d actually given Chris a contemporary lap-dance as a last minute gift.

Eva didn’t realize she’d let out a groan until Chris started stirring beside her.

“Morning,” she greeted after a few minutes giving Chris time to wake up and readjust to his surroundings.

Beautiful green eyes found her immediately and Eva felt her heart skipping a beat when the smile emerged. “Morning, beautiful,” said Chris.

“Hilarious,” said Eva, rolling her eyes and she reached up to tuck a hand under her cheek so that she’d be able to look at Chris better.

“I’m serious,” said Chris, “Only you could wake up first thing in the morning after a night of partying looking so gorgeous.”

Once again, Chris left Eva absolutely speechless, grasping for words to reply to the ridiculous compliment. “I bet you say that to everyone you end up in bed with.”

“No,” said Chris as-a-matter-of-factly, “Just you.” He punctuated the comment with his patented Cheshire-cat grin and Eva couldn’t do anything but smack him playfully on the arm and looking away so that he wouldn’t be able to see the blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Chris just laughed and Eva couldn’t keep the sheepish grin off her face at that.

The Christmas jingle was still present and loud in the air and Eva knew she needed to get up off the couch, take a shower and actually make herself look presentable to her guest, but try as she might she just couldn’t dislodge herself from the warm comfort of Chris’s embrace. Instead, she snuggled in closer, tucking her head under his chin and he just accepted her body moulding perfectly into his with open arms.

Eva didn’t want to get up or do anything other than stay there on the sofa with Chris’s arms around her and the comforting feel of his presence so close to her.

She came to the conclusion that was the way she wanted to wake up and the sight she wanted to wake up to for the rest of her life.

Eva and Chris. Chris and Eva.

 _Chriseva_.

She couldn’t think of anything else that sounded more perfect.

**Tbc.**


End file.
